Dreaming among legends
by Cracticusly
Summary: Varjak is dead, Sally bones reigns on, and Julius found himself dreaming among legends.
1. Prologue

Two cats are clash like twisting serpents atop a great white building. In the distance, the first rays of sunlight shines through the tall buildings. On the ground below is a chaos of blood and fur. Despite that, the weary world seemed to hold its breath as the warm wash of a new day paints everything in gold. A body falls from the mountain. Gasps—

Amidst the pure, white snow; a broken, contorted black body, and a pair of Amber ashes cooling in the cold.

It's the start of spring, but winter never seemed to have ended.


	2. The beginning of everything

There was a house atop the hill. The dust covered roof looked grey in the morning light. It made the house age centuries. Although the last of the snow has finally melted, the garden remained devoid of life. Within its walls, however, haunted eight silver-blue cats. Their collars hung loosely around their thin necks. Their head held held high even though there was no one else to see them. The strongest, biggest one of them all was Julius Paw.

In the house, Julius was having bad feeling. It had been hovering uncomfortably in his gut since he woke, then continued to annoy him since, so much so that it was quickly becoming a pain. The Mesopotamian Blue looked around. The curtains covering the thick green windows were faded, but not more than usual. The Contessa's red velvet armchair still rests in the front room.. The glass from the shattered window remained scattered on the floor. Nothing changes.

Yet, the dreadfulness still hangs there.

 _Are you sure?_

A ghost of sound whispers past his ears.

 _Can you be certain?_

The feline shook his head violently in hopes of dispelling it and turned his attention outwards. He headed out of the cat door to catch his breath from the stale air inside.

* * *

There, in the garden. His three youngest brothers, bantering in the distance. They swatted at each other playfully as they soaked up the warm rays. The cold has finally ended.

Julius suppressed a shiver as he was reminded of the harsh winter they just left behind. His family only survived by huddling under the thick blankets in the Contessa's room.

Julius still remembered a time when no one entered the garden willingly. No one but little Varjak. A winter after he had left, his brothers now pranced about gleefully in that very same patch of grass. If it had been Varjak, if he had never left, Mother and Father would scold him thoroughly for that. His brothers would call him names. Julius would spit at him, look him hatefully in his Amber ( _the colour of danger_ ) eyes and say that he didn't belong.

Jay, Jethro and Jerome weaves in and out of sight, building a cake of mud beneath their paws. Father, Mother and Aunt Juni did not say a thing when they first left through the cat door. It was a small change, but important nevertheless. The concerns over diminishing food supplies also encouraged a bit of "branching out" in search for alternative water sources other than the toilet, forcing even the most reluctant Paw to take trips to the shallow flower pot that laid abandoned at the far corner of the garden.

Someone cleared their throat behind him. Looking back, Julius sees cousin Jasmine glaring distastefully at their brothers. Among the family, she found it hardest to admit this was something they were wrong about. Being a Blue, being a Paw meant being fine with the garden, not sitting about washing their already shinning coats. Aunt Juni had yelled at her before she ceded. Julius couldn't help but think she deserved it. Jasmine had always been a bit of a stuck up.

"Mother requests that we start the Family Council," she said curtly in her milky smooth voice. "She says that there is something important we must discuss."

The bad feeling in his gut reared its ugly head in glory.

* * *

His litter brothers noticed Jasmine's presence and started shooting her dirty looks, obviously still annoyed by her grumbling. Julius wanted to scoff. Unlike them, _he_ understood.

There was stiffness in her posture— something that made her soft, slender build comparative to the hard curves of a wooden ladle. Her eyes reflected longing, not hatred. She leans forward like she craves to be what her younger cousins are and what she will never be.

Before the Gentleman, before _Varjak_ , wanting to go into the garden was unthinkable. And It was easy to convince themselves why. The garden was dirty, a place to practice hunting and running around. In the Contessa's house, hunting and dirt was useless. They had everything.

Julius had thought that that was what being a Blue was all about. Then one day his brother ran away and being a Blue turned out to be everything they were not. Turned out to be everything Jalal the Paw gave up.

He had seen the wildness in Varjak. And he _wants_.

* * *

"Meeting!" He called out to them as he beckoned with his head, then stalked after Jasmine to the front room.

Seeing the rest of his family gathering around the chair, Julius was assaulted by a wave of nostalgia. During the winter, it was too cold to hold a proper Family Council. There was a sense of foreboding in the air. Once the last of the family has arrived, Julius said, "The Family Council is now in session."

Mother sat on the Contessa's chair. Ever since they stopped having a family head, whoever needs to speak sits in the chair. Mother was in charge of food rationing. Her expression was grim.

"Everyone," she started slowly as Jay settled down beside Jerome and Jethro.

"Our rations are running out."

"How long do we have?" Father asked tersely.

"A week at best."

The silence grew heavier. Everyone knew they had to leave the safety of the house one day, now that there was no one left to take care of them, but to have that happen in the immediate future, seemed... Terrifying.

The Mesopotamian blues looked at each other with dread.

The room lapsed into silence.

Fear reflected and

bounced from

green eyes

-to-

green eyes.

* * *

Julius squared his shoulders, "We leave tomorrow."

Whispering and murmuring immediately break out between the family.

Another roll of unease tips through the room like a tide.

Julius jumped into chair, causing Mother join the rest of the cats on the carpet.

"I'm the strongest. I might not know how to hunt like Varjak must know how to hunt, but I have the best chance to. **Listen to me**." He demanded, puffing up his chest.

Cousin Jasmine and his three brothers quiets down, and so does Aunt Juni.

But Mother and Father hissed, hairs raising in reply. Julius stares back from the chair, not backing down.

"We Leave Tomorrow." He bit, "These rations aren't meals. And we will need meals if we want to survive in the city."

Julius knows he was right. Mother and Father knows he was right. Their fur settle, tails curling tight around their bodies. They lowered their heads.

The Meeting was over.

* * *

Tomorrow, they shall venture out of the Contessa's House.

Tomorrow, they shall head to the city.

Tomorrow, they shall find Varjak.

* * *

 **AN: Is it just me, or is the formatting thing even harder to use now? Geez.**

 **Anyway, I finally got around to getting the Outlaw Varjak Paw. Look forward to me actually writing this fic now. :)**


	3. The dawn of the first day

The next day, Julius had the best meal in a long, long time. He hasn't felt so full since the Gentleman ran screaming out of the Contessa's house. The dry food scratched uncomfortably in his throat, but he was used to it now. Jay, Jethro and Jerome talked excitedly in a corner. Julius remembered how Varjak told them not be scared to go Outside, and how they would find a home elsewhere. Today was the day they leave the Contessa's house, just as Jalal left Mesopotamia. They would find Varjak, and learn how to belong Outside too.

One by one, the cats finished their morning routine and walked through the shattered green window. There was a path leading to the open gate, which looked like it might snap in half in the wind. Julius walked between then and felt different. In front of him, his brothers bounced animatedly, all traces of fear gone from their bodies.

"Look! Look!" Jay exclaimed

And look he did.

* * *

In front of him sprawled a broad, green park. Beyond it, away in the distance, was a city. Streaks of amber light, amber like Varjak's eyes, lit the tall spires and stout buildings in equally blinding brightness. Brick walls merged with blank concrete canvases. Orderly tiled walkways intersected small, winding cobblestone paths leading into the darkened alleys. Lights of all colours flickered threateningly, reminding him of his swimming vision when the Gentleman had grabbed him.

Jethro laughed in wonder and delight somewhere to his left. Julius didn't know what there was to laugh at. From there position at the top of the hill, the city seemed small, like a well-made miniature. But Julius knows that this city was so, very large; much larger than Julius, much much larger than Varjak.

He felt overwhelmed and afraid. All his bravado from yesterday left him in a huff, and now he stood nakedly Outside with no place to call home. He don't know how Jalal could stand it. He don't know how tiny little Varjak could love it.

Cousin Jasmine emerged last from the Contessa's house. She looked scared and worried too. So did Mother, Father and Aunt Juni. With a start, Julius remembered that he wasn't truly alone. His family was here. And out there, within the city, was a fearless Paw.

Jerome and Jethro began making their way down the hill merrily, while Jay ran circles around the rest of the family shouting, "Come on! Come on! Let's go explore already!"

The adults gave a long-suffering sigh before following the youngest Blues downhill. By the time they reached the foot of the hill and crossed the fence into the park, a layer of mud was waddled between their claws. All of a sudden, a loud roar tore through the air. It continued for a while, going from one end of the park to another in parallel to their position, and then it was gone. Even though it obviously came from somewhere a distance away, all seven cats jumped in fright. They had never heard anything like that before. It sounded like a low, grating snarl— only ten times as loud. Before he could stop him, Jerome approached the source of noise curiously. Julius caught up to him and tried to steer his fool-hardy brother away.

"Jerome! What do you think you are—"

"No, wait! Listen. Do you here that?"

As he came closer, he could indeed heard similar noises from somewhere beyond that bush, only slightly softer and even lower.

From behind the leaves, he and Jerome peaked out.

A black road. Giant, fearsome monsters ran along it, the source of the noise.

At this distance, they were deafening. They reminded him of dogs, but these were way too big and way too fast to be a dog. The rest of his family, seeing that nothing was harming him, joined the two of them.

"What are these?" Jasmine whispered fearfully.

These creatures looked like they could eat the entire family for lunch.

"I don't know." Father whispered back.

* * *

The family followed the road cautiously. The huge metal monsters never attacked, only roared forwards with a single-minded ferocity. The air smelled foul with their exhalations. Soon, the pleasant morning heat became glaring and hot. Through it all, the family walked. Soon enough, they found themselves back where they had started. The garden was practically an island surrounded by these packs of creatures all along! Despite living here for their entire lives, they had never known.

A narrow pavement circled the garden like a beach, and walking on it were groups of people. They were laughing and talking and clambering out of some of these metal monsters. To think these fearsome creatures would bow to the whims of humans! Julius trembled. He longed to be in the protection of a human like the Contessa again, who would _never_ let something like those monsters hurt him. But now that the Contessa was gone, there was no one to protect his family. There was, however, Varjak, and he was somewhere where beyond the road.

Julius and his family crouched tensely in the bushes, avoiding both human and monster.

"We'll have to find a way to get past the monsters," Mother said.

"Can't we stay?" Jay whimpered. "They're scary."

Mother shushed him and licked him comfortingly.

Father shook his head, "There is no other way. We will have to dash across in between herds."

"Don't worry, just follow me and run as fast as you can," Julius said, hoping his voice sounds more confident than he felt.

Jay nodded.

The cats turn back to the road.

The metal creatures whizzed past in columns, when suddenly the last of them passes and—

* * *

A Path!

Father and Julius dashes ahead first, with the rest following close by.

Julius urged his muscles to move faster. His paws pounded on the ground, ears flattened against his head. It almost felt like he was flying. From their left, the growling of the next herd was becoming louder. He cleared the road and dashed into an alley so that the humans won't see him. He turns around and sees Father running into the alley as well,

then Mother,

then cousin Jasmine,

then Aunt Juni,

then Jay,

then Jerome,

then— _ **No**_!

* * *

"Watch out!" He screams.

A few paces behind, still on the road, Jethro flattened himself on the ground right before the first monsters reached him. It let out a high pitched scream in response— Julius wants to run away and never look back. But he kept his eyes on the road, on Jethro, as more and more monsters flew by above his brother's head. Some swiveled dangerously away, it's legs threatened to squash him underneath. The wind swept up by the herd stings Julius's eyes and he struggled to make sure Jethro was still alright amidst the flurry of movement. All around him, his family was calling Jethro's name.

It seemed to go on for an eternity but the last of the monsters pass. And then they were gone, but only for a little while.

"Now, Jethro!" Mother shouted at her petrified son.

Jethro looked up. He bolted into the safety of the alley and curled against his mother with a cry.

The rest of the family swarmed over, warmth and relief flooding through their bodies.

Jay and Jerome was crying. Jasmine looked close. They stayed entangled together in a pile of fur for a few minutes before they pulled themselves up tiredly.

* * *

It was only the first day in the Outside and one of them nearly died. Shaken, but still determined, the family of Mesopotamian blues head deeper into the city.


End file.
